I talked to him once. He told me about his story, his house in India, his family and now he is here. I thought someone without money, covering his body in rags in this cold shivering winter, would complain about life. But he didn't. He has accepted the present, it seems. Other than his gray hair and wrinkles of his old age, he seems OK. After all, how much does a man need to survive? Not much.
But for the rest of us, it's a different story. We wake up every day thinking about the things we need to do, about failures of yesterday, how bad it went the other day and what is in store in the future. Great plans and hopes are ahead. Yes, we either live in future or lament for the past. We all have the choice to live in the present. But we don't ... it's not that easy. Soon we hear the whisper, asking us to look around, to look at the exciting things others are planning and doing, the fun they are having, and the things we are going to miss out if we don't do the same. So we are all doing what others are doing. What we call normal. That is, to keep on planning about your future and keep on running to get there.
Life is in a constant flux, a rush to be in the future. Future seems to be a much better time and place to think about - hoping, dreaming, planning, consoling ourselves. What next? I think that is the question we are all asking ourselves again and again, that keeps us excited, moving and alive.
So, what has become of us? Why do we give so much importance to future planning, rather than doing what we need to do in the present. What will we feel at some point of time when we look back and realize we never lived the moment. We never took a deep breath. We never looked at this breath, as it went in, and then coming out. We never had the time to appreciate the beautiful things happening 'during' that moment and the moments will never come back. Then we just wanted to hurry, hurry towards the future. And that future is now, but then again we are looking at the possibilities and promises of the time to come. The 'now' is lost and the 'what next' is smiling.
But whether we want to or not, a time will come when we have to face the moment and just say 'this is it'. There is no 'what next?' No, you will not be a billionaire. You will not be rich and famous. You are not special. Don't worry about the dent you are going to make. The dent that Steve Jobs created was pretty big, I am sure. But then how much of the dent will still be in place, say in a couple of hundred years? Time is endless. What we can do is finite. So don't try too hard to be special. The best you can do is be normal; do your job, focus on present. Your life is like the life of an ant compared to the history of this Earth. Be still. Enjoy now.
With these thoughts, I looked at the early morning Sun, at this big yellow ball. I was about to turn around to finish my walk. But then I said to myself, 'I am going to take one more round of this field'. The air is fresh. I will just look at this rising Sun for another moment. What is the rush? The world is not tumbling because I am twenty minutes later. This morning, every breath feels heavenly. The chirping of the birds is relaxing. The dogs barking on the other end of the field don't bother me anymore. The boys playing football are having fun. The water drops on this morning grass are shining like little diamonds and that man sitting on that rock is doing his Kapalbhati.
This is it. As I stopped for a moment, a great sense of peace and tranquility overcame me. Peace, peace - nothing better than this peace. I am enjoying 'this' walk.